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Description

It was a surprisingly clean and lofty bar where I was to meet my contact. It featured large aquariums and thousands of colourful fishes, but nobody was there. Even the bartender seemed to have dived down to his aquatic friends mentally. I had to address him thrice to get a drink. Then I asked for my contact. He pointed to a booth where the only customer sat. I turned around and stared in shock before I went over, wary of what I had gotten myself into.

In the booth sat the oldest fart I'd ever seen, fat and wrinkly and with an unfitting pink wig. She was clad in a thicc, greasy looking leather suit and wore some strange cybergoggles. A rusty, well-used looking cyberarm protruded from the jacket, where she seemingly had just cut off the right sleeve to make it fit. Or to show off her asset, I don't know. She smoked a fat cigar and showed the self-confidence that she would grab that large laser rifle fast enough to cope with anything.

"Now, boy, do you want to drink, do you want to talk or do you want to stare? If it's about that, get your ass out, or I'll put it into hospital", I now heard her croaking voice. She sounded like a toad that had smoked cigars for at least half a century. Considering I'm well over two meters tall and feature the stature of a boxer, that was a confident claim.

"I'm looking for Stella", I managed to say, seating myself warily across from her. She laughed, what gave me goosebumps.

"O'course you do. I'm Stella." I gulped.

"I need assistance to find somebody", I told her. She tilted her head.

"Isn't that the job of the police?", she asked.

"Not in this case. Look, I'm a lawyer. I have a client who died and left her niece her estate on Sanctuary, but the niece has moved or changed her name or both. Last I know she was in Ankor." She didn't seem to take the bait.

"Still, a job for a PI, not a bounty hunter. What's strange about it?" I squirmed.

"Ahh... well, the niece isn't particularly nice. She's wanted in Newrope, in all of the Callistrias, and in Zambezi because of various reasons. So your job would be to find her, and to take her to Sanctuary without her being captured."

"Wanted because of what?"

"Err... Fraud, among others."

"Which others?" She couldn't leave it like that, could she?

"Armed robbery, manslaughter, arson and forgery. And marriage swindling."

"Wow. That estate has to be really big if you get yourself into trouble for the commission. And are able to pay my fee." I sighed.

"Sorry, lady. If you think you can't do it..."

"Oh, I can", she snapped. "Nothing to worry about. Do you know what shows you a bounty hunter is worth their money? They're old. They survived. You don't know how old I am. I could probably be your great-great-grandmother."

'No, you couldn't', I thought, 'You're white.' But I didn't say anything.

"So yes, I can do it. I can hunt that girl down for you and bring the package to Sanctuary. But it will be expensive. I have to travel weeks and weeks, and it might even lead to nothing. Can you cope with that? Six thousand for a week, plus ten for any case in which danger is involved. So if your sweetie doesn't want to come and even tries to harm old Stella, it'll get expensive fast. You're still up for it?"

"Yeah."

In the blink of an eye she sat on the table, heaving me out of my seat with her cyberarm and growling.

"Then you'd better tell me the real reason why you want her on Sanctuary. I'm not that dumb, asshole." The cigar came uncomfortably close to my face. I almost shat my pants. Boy, that woman was dangerous!

"That slut killed my son, and I want her dead by my own hands", I managed to squeak out. She snorted.

"If you can do that, I'll be impressed." She let me fall down like a bag of rice. "Okay. Give me all data you've got, and I'll go catch your birdie for you. But try to mess with me, and I'll get your ass. I'm hell when I get mad."

- - - - - - - -

Fun render emerging from trying out new stuff. Story suited in the universe of my novel, but unrelated to it.

Description

It was a surprisingly clean and lofty bar where I was to meet my contact. It featured large aquariums and thousands of colourful fishes, but nobody was there. Even the bartender seemed to have dived down to his aquatic friends mentally. I had to address him thrice to get a drink. Then I asked for my contact. He pointed to a booth where the only customer sat. I turned around and stared in shock before I went over, wary of what I had gotten myself into.

In the booth sat the oldest fart I'd ever seen, fat and wrinkly and with an unfitting pink wig. She was clad in a thicc, greasy looking leather suit and wore some strange cybergoggles. A rusty, well-used looking cyberarm protruded from the jacket, where she seemingly had just cut off the right sleeve to make it fit. Or to show off her asset, I don't know. She smoked a fat cigar and showed the self-confidence that she would grab that large laser rifle fast enough to cope with anything.

"Now, boy, do you want to drink, do you want to talk or do you want to stare? If it's about that, get your ass out, or I'll put it into hospital", I now heard her croaking voice. She sounded like a toad that had smoked cigars for at least half a century. Considering I'm well over two meters tall and feature the stature of a boxer, that was a confident claim.

"I'm looking for Stella", I managed to say, seating myself warily across from her. She laughed, what gave me goosebumps.

"O'course you do. I'm Stella." I gulped.

"I need assistance to find somebody", I told her. She tilted her head.

"Isn't that the job of the police?", she asked.

"Not in this case. Look, I'm a lawyer. I have a client who died and left her niece her estate on Sanctuary, but the niece has moved or changed her name or both. Last I know she was in Ankor." She didn't seem to take the bait.

"Still, a job for a PI, not a bounty hunter. What's strange about it?" I squirmed.

"Ahh... well, the niece isn't particularly nice. She's wanted in Newrope, in all of the Callistrias, and in Zambezi because of various reasons. So your job would be to find her, and to take her to Sanctuary without her being captured."

"Wanted because of what?"

"Err... Fraud, among others."

"Which others?" She couldn't leave it like that, could she?

"Armed robbery, manslaughter, arson and forgery. And marriage swindling."

"Wow. That estate has to be really big if you get yourself into trouble for the commission. And are able to pay my fee." I sighed.

"Sorry, lady. If you think you can't do it..."

"Oh, I can", she snapped. "Nothing to worry about. Do you know what shows you a bounty hunter is worth their money? They're old. They survived. You don't know how old I am. I could probably be your great-great-grandmother."

'No, you couldn't', I thought, 'You're white.' But I didn't say anything.

"So yes, I can do it. I can hunt that girl down for you and bring the package to Sanctuary. But it will be expensive. I have to travel weeks and weeks, and it might even lead to nothing. Can you cope with that? Six thousand for a week, plus ten for any case in which danger is involved. So if your sweetie doesn't want to come and even tries to harm old Stella, it'll get expensive fast. You're still up for it?"

"Yeah."

In the blink of an eye she sat on the table, heaving me out of my seat with her cyberarm and growling.

"Then you'd better tell me the real reason why you want her on Sanctuary. I'm not that dumb, asshole." The cigar came uncomfortably close to my face. I almost shat my pants. Boy, that woman was dangerous!

"That slut killed my son, and I want her dead by my own hands", I managed to squeak out. She snorted.

"If you can do that, I'll be impressed." She let me fall down like a bag of rice. "Okay. Give me all data you've got, and I'll go catch your birdie for you. But try to mess with me, and I'll get your ass. I'm hell when I get mad."

- - - - - - - -

Fun render emerging from trying out new stuff. Story suited in the universe of my novel, but unrelated to it.